Of Smokeless Fire- a review

Author A A Jafri

Genre Literary Fiction

Published by Penguin Random House

The cultural fact was that conflicts were resolved through silent afflections, not through exaggerated emotions.

Of smokeless fire, page 281

A magnificent novel, by A. A Jafri, revolving around Mansoor; son of a well-known barrister Noor-ul-Haq, Mehrun; an ambitious girl employed as a house help at Mansoor’s household and Joseph; a bhangi, the untouchable whose life is destined to clean shit-holes of the affluent.

The friendship between Mansoor, Mehrun, and Joseph will touch your heart. The social and political setup of Pakistan, the unhappiness of Noor; Mansoor’s father-who had migrated from India post-partition, the religious fanaticism, the persecution of Ahmadis, and the way Noor raises his son will strike a chord or two with your own conscience.

The novel encompasses so many issues. The political unrest of Pakistan, the social and economic gap between the wealthy and the poor, and the unsettling difference between the extremely religious and rationalist thinkers, to name a few.

Laced with the folklores of djinns and churails, Jafri weaves a beautiful story of belongingness, separation, and rearing fractured relationships. Everything has been said about the rich and the poor, patriotism and questioning your country and religion and its role in shaping our personalities. But the story is said in such a captivating way that the pain of the characters lives with you forever.

Like two people living a frctured life, seperated by abstractions, they pretended to have patched up their differences in utter silence.

Of smokeless fire, page 281

Anxious People- Reviewed

But when you get home this evening, when this day is over and the night takes us, allow yourself a deep breath. Because we made it through this day as well.

There’ll be another one along tomorrow.

Anxious People- Fredrick Backman, Page 390

Anxious People is a book that takes you on a journey of several people, each with a different story, suffering and struggling in their own ways. What makes it interesting is the style in which it is written. The way it starts, how the events unfold, and how they conclude are remarkably described.

Two local detectives, a father-son duo are caught in a “bank robbery” which intriguingly turns into a hostage situation. The book contains a good amount of documented transcripts of the interviews taken.

The book contains some painful and truth-bomb throwing lines that compel you to think about the drudgery of daily life, complications of adulthood, and the unending chores of survival.

When you’re a child you long to be an adult and decide everything for yourself, but when you’re an adult you realise that’s the worst part of it.

Anxious People, Fredrick Backman, Page 216

Backman has very slyly interlaced the stories of all the characters and made them look simple and uncomplicated. There is the father-son duo Jim and Jack and all others who were held hostage-Zara, a bank employee and depressed middle-aged woman, Julia and Ro-a married lesbian couple, Estelle-an old woman, Anna-Lena and Roger-a weird couple who have visited every IKEA store in the country, Lennart-a person with the weirdest job of disrupting apartment viewings, the House Tricks estate agent and last but not the least-the bank robber. But nothing is random and nothing appears just like that in the novel. You will be on the edge all the time at how the story unfolds at the end. Not even for a single moment, the book gets dull or monotonous.

The ending is both surprising and oddly satisfying.

Published by: Penguin Books

Rating 4.5/5

The Silent Patient

Author- Alex Michaelides

Published on- 5th February 2019

The Silent Patient is a psychological thriller based on a woman Alicia Berenson-an artist, who is found in her apartment with her dead husband shot five times in his head. the story revolves around –Theo Faber, a criminal psychotherapist as he is adamant to cure and seek answers from Alicia as she never uttered a word after that incident.

The book is a stunning work with ample twists and turns that will keep you hooked to your reading glasses. With a core value of mental health and how trauma from the past can affect a person’s personality. Something similar happened with Alicia too, and Theo is adamant to find out her story which made her go silent for many years. Battling with his own demons, he is set to explore her private life and past experiences to find some answers.

My rating 4/5

Comments- must read if you love psychological thrillers.

Not Without Your Love- Arvind Parashar

Romantic thrillers often make for a decent read and if they’re based on true stories, it adds more charm to the plot.

Set in war-torn Afghanistan under the Soviet attack in the 1970s, a journalist, Kabir is offered a position in Afghanistan, which he gladly accepts to be reunited with her college sweetheart- Noosh. Little did he know that he has been tricked and turned into a spy with his life at risk.

When Kabir finds out he has been a pawn in the hands of his most trusted “Professor” and Soviets, and the information he conveyed to them in the name of development will now be used to harm the people, he decides to stay back and help others survive the calamity.

Kabir and Noosh get married in the war struck country and create their paradise. They continue to help people but one-day Noosh’s father dies in a bombing near his residence. That is when they become insecure and start thinking ways to leave for India. It was when one-day Noosh found out she is pregnant, they become desperate to leave for the sake of their child’s safety. However bad luck Strikes and they get separated and reunite after a decade of hardships.

A decent read indeed and the writing style is simple and easy to understand.

Number of pages- 213

Cost- Rs.123

Book Review- The Pearl that broke it’s Shell.

The Pearl That Broke It’s Shell by Nadia Hashimi is an outstanding debut novel by the author. The Afghani-American author has brilliantly portrayed the struggles and pathos of the life of women under the Taliban.

The story revolves around two female protagonists- Rahima and Shekiba, who despite being almost a century apart, had to face the adversity of the cruel world dominated by the males.

When Taliban came into power Rahiman had to take ownership and disguise herself as a “bacha posh” in order to fend for her family.

Her great-great-grandmother Shekiba too had a similar experience a century ago when she had to disguise herself as a male and find employment at the royal palace.

Read the book for an insight into Afghan culture and the Taliban rule at that time.

The story is emotional, rivetting, touches your heart and you fall in love with both the female leads

The human spirit, you know what they say about the human spirit? It is harder than a rock and more delicate than a flower petal.

Nadia Hashimi

Harper Collins Publication

Originally published in May, 2014

The Palace Of Illusions

The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Publisher Picador

Publication Date 2008

Pages 360

ISBN 978-0-330-45853-5

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an Indian-American author, poet and the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of Writing at the University of Houston Creative Writing Program. She is the receiver of several prestigious awards like American Book Award, shortlisted for Oranze Prize and several of her books have been adapted into TV serials.

The author perfectly weaves magic as suggested by the title itself- The Palace of Illusions. It is a rendition of the famous Epic- the Mahabharata but through the vision of a woman. A woman who was born with a purpose- to change the course of History and bring about huge changes in her times. This later happened when she got married to the greatest warrior heroes of their time- the Pandavas.

I must admit beforehand that I was actually not completely aware of the exact plot, twists and turns of the Mahabharata. I’d read various tales of ‘Karna’, the bravery of young ‘Abhimanyu’, the poignant and astute answers of the eldest Pandava- ‘Yudhishthira’ to the disguised crane and the epic life lessons of ‘Krishna’ to ‘Arjuna’ who was about to fight his own kins in the Battle of Kurukshetra.

However, this ignorance proved to be a blessing in disguise as little did I know, upon my research (out of curiosity!), that princess ‘Panchaali’ (Draupadi) is widely disregarded and blamed a bit for the battle that happened between the brothers- the ‘Kauravas’ and the ‘Pandavas’ which lead to enormous bloodshed.

Coming back to the book, it is written in first person and gives a glimpse into Panchaali’s head and heart. Chitra Divakaruni very magically weaves the tale again in front of us only through the eyes of the Princess herself.

I found the book extremely empowering as the character is portrayed in such strong light that it baffles the entire existence of misogyny and puts patriarchy to shame. Princess Panchaali is a phenomenal woman right from the beginning when she despises her unadorned and pretty plain name ‘Draupadi’ which simply means ‘daughter of Drupad’, which is quite contrary to the prophecy that was made on her birth that she will change the course of History. She simply takes no fancy in her name and remains dissatisfied throughout her childhood and teenage and often beseeches Krishna, her best friend, to guide her.

The book revolves around the female protagonist and once again we are face to face with what a woman desires in her husband, at her Swayamvara, where she chooses her rightful husband after he wins an almost impossible task. Later when she, due to a situation is to marry Arjuna as well his brothers- she is blessed with a virtue to regain her virginity everytime she is with another brother. She expresses her grave incontent when she says-

Nor was I particlarly delighted by the virginity boon, which seemed designed more for my husband’s benefit than mine. If the sage had cared to inquire I’d have requested for the gift of forgetting so that when I went to each brother, I’d be free of the memories of the previous one.

Definitely, Paanchali has nerves of steel. She is not only ambitious and headstrong but also a great example of patience and perseverance. She spent twelve years in exile and one extra year in hiding. Despite being a queen she was compelled to toil like a labour when she could’ve lived a comfortable life at her father’s palace. But she did not give up on her husbands and stood by them during the exile. Although she was disappointed in them when no one came to her rescue when she was shamed and insulted in open court-

All this time I’d believed in my power over my husbands. I’d believed that because they loved me they would do anything  for me. But now I saw that though they did love me-as much perhaps as any man can love-there were other things they loved more. They would avenge me later, yes, but only when they felt the circumstances would bring them heroic fame. A woman doesn’t think that way!

It gets even better when she pledges to stop combing her long tresses till the day she is avenged. The story, for even once will not let you get distracted. Whether you have read the Epic or not you will find it surprisingly relatable and touching. Panchaali witnesses the entire battle and contemplates life and her destiny that is to change the course of history.

I strongly recommend the book to anyone and everyone who believes in powerful storytelling which works like a screenplay- creating images in your mind. If I have to summarise The Palace of Illusions in a statement, it’s mythological, historical as well as Magical!

 

P.S. I do not intend to offend the sentiments of the readers due to a meager knowledge of the Epic mentioned in the book. Apologies if I have missed out on something important as I’m a learner too.

Suggestions are welcome 🙂

Happy reading.